Earth Dancer
by Imagi
Summary: It only takes one little thing to change your life forever. I am very fond of Brian and this will be the 1st in my series that will involve him.
1. Chapter 1

Earth Dancer

It was early morning on the planet Earth. The skies were heavy with clouds and the ground was wet from last night's downpour. Despite this Brian was out doing his job. He had gotten a late start that morning and was now rushing around town trying to make up for the time lost.

"4 more houses and I'll be all caught up." Brian said out loud as he threw another paper on the porch of a house. As he rode on he was so determined on finishing quickly that he didn't see the large patch of water in front of him.

"Whoa!" Brian cried out as his bike skidded on the wet pavement. He quickly turned his handle bars and leaned to the left in hopes of keeping his bike balanced. Those hopes were dashed when something hit his bike hard, off balancing him and sending Brian crashing into the dirty water.

Brian winced as he felt the bruises from where he landed, but as he pulled himself back up, he immediately caught sight of a group of boys on bikes no older then himself smirking. But it was the one in the center that made him frown.

"Randall!" What did you have to go and to that for!" Brian asked angrily addressing the boy.

Randall continued to smirk. "You looked like you were hot, so I decided to help cool you off." He continued to smirk. "And now that I think of it that mud DOES suit you."

Brian was practically shaking from anger. Though Randall was always impeccably dressed, and his shining blonde hair never out of place, his blue eyes was cold and cruel showing his true character. He and Randall had always been rivals…even more so then Red Butler and himself. But that was where the similarities ended. While he and the Red color kid didn't exactly see eye to eye, Brian knew Red would never stoop to Randall's level.

And he also didn't have the time to deal with Randall right now. Quickly Brian gathered up the plastic covered newspapers and threw them into his bag. Randall meanwhile watched the muddy paperboy get back onto his bike.

"EXCUSE ME but I didn't say you could leave." Randall said rudely. To his shock and annoyance the boy ignored him and sped off. "No one ignores me and gets away with it! Get him!" Randall yelled out.

Brian happened to look over his shoulder and saw he was followed. "Uh -Oh." Immediately he picked up the pace. It took awhile but he was able to lose the bullies by ducking into a nearby yard, watching as they rode past his hiding spot and around the corner. "That was too close." Brian muttered to himself as he rode off in the other direction.

Randall was steamed. He and his gang had ridden around town twice in search of that paperboy. "Don't you think he would have gone home boss?" One of the bullies asked. "Knowing Brian he wouldn't. Not without finishing that route of his." Randall suddenly realized something and he grinned nastily. "We find the houses we find him."

"Or we could just find his bike." Another bully pointed at a bike that was set by a gate. Randall's grin got bigger.

Brian had just finished delivering the last paper. Since this last house was on a hill, he had left his bike by the gate knowing the hill was far to steep to use it. But when he got to the gate…

Huh! Where did my bike go? I know I left it right here…

Brian suddenly heard the sound of bike petals. Turning around quickly he saw Randall and his gang ride off with his bike.

Hey! You come back here! Brian ran after them in vain, and watched the bullies fade off into the distance. To add to his day it started to rain once more. Brian sighed. "This is just great."

The walk home was a long one. Thanks to Randall and his pals, Brian was now completely lost. After an hour of wandering, Brian was close to giving up.

"At this rate I'll never find my way back home." Brian said dejectedly. A loud scream suddenly sounded making him jump. "What was that!" After a moment the scream repeated, the sound coming from the forest he had passed moments before.

"I just hope I don't regret this." Brian turned around and entered the forest.


	2. Chapter 2

The forest was much larger then it had first seemed. Brian wandered through the trees using the screams as his guide. As he got closer the screams grew louder and seemed familiar to him somehow. "That's strange. It almost sounds like- Yee-ahhh!

Brian didn't see the ground had slanted downward until it was too late, by that time he had tumbled down the slope into a small makeshift lake. "This just isn't my day today." Brian sighed, and then spun around quickly as he heard the scream again, this time he knew. Whatever had called him here was very close.

The level of the water was past his knees and getting deeper all the time as Brian got closer. Then he stopped for a moment in shock. "Oh No!" He yelled out.

There was a tree nearby directly in the water's path. And tied to that tree was a horse. The horse would continuously rear up and charge forward only to be stopped by the rope. As Brian approached the horse she reared up in fright. "Woah!" Brian immediately backed away out of the path of her hooves, waiting until they were back down on the ground, before slowly approaching once more. "I can help you, but I can't until you calm down!" To his surprise the horse settled down as if understanding.

"That's better. Now let's get you free." The rope was tied tight, and the dampness was making it hard to grip the knot and impossible to untie. As the water level continued to rise up past his waist, Brian quickly tried another approach. "I hope you don't hate me for this." Taking a desperate leap Brian was just able to grab a hold of the horse, and managed to pull himself up. As expected the horse reared up in fright. Once again Brian was able to settle her until he got the rope off.

The instant the horse was free, she bolted. Brian just held on tight hoping the horse would stop soon. Every now and then the horse would jump for no apparent reason and would sometimes change directions. Brian chucked. "You are one strange horse. If I didn't know any better I'd think you were dancing."

Finally the horse stopped at a small stable and Brian got off. The rain had long since stopped and as Brian watched a beautiful Rainbow appear in the sky. Looking carefully, Brian finally spotted the white horse with the rainbow mane and smiled. "Hey Rainbow!" he yelled out waving.

Rainbow Brite was startled when she heard Brian's voice. "Brian?" she wondered looking down. It took a moment to recognize her earth friend. "It is him!"

"But what is Brian doing way out here?" Twink wondered. "And how did he get covered in mud? Look at him he's positively filthy!" Starlight snorted. "Let's go find out." Rainbow touched her belt, sending out a beam of rainbow light and quickly rode down eager to see her friend. As expected Starlight refused to go closer, so Rainbow jumped down and walked over.

"What happened to you?" Rainbow said half worried and half bemused over the situation. "And how come you're all muddy?" Twink was quick to add. Brian just smiled weakly. It's a long story Rainbow. "I don't mind, I've always got time for my friends!" Rainbow smiled cheerfully. Seeing no way around it, Brian retold everything that had happened earlier. When he finished there was silence. "Wow that's some story! But I'm glad you're okay." Rainbow said smiling.

"Where's the horse Brian?" Twink asked looking around. "I don't see her anywhere." "She's right over-huh?" Brian noticed the horse's absence as well. "Well she has to be here somewhere." Rainbow smiled again. "We'll help you find her. Come on Twink! Starlight!"

With his friend's help the surrounding area was searched rather quickly, but it was Starlight who found the missing horse near the main building. "Ahh there you are." It took some coaxing, but Starlight finally got the other horse to come out of the shadows. He shuddered seeing the horse was covered in mud as well. Turning his head he saw Brian and Rainbow approaching as did Twink who carried a bucket of soapy water and a sponge. The horse looked ready to bolt again, but Brian calmly took the sponge from Twink and dipped it into the water. Once again he was able to calm her down enough to get close and ever so gently brushed it against the tense horse. Once the horse realized that Brian would not hurt her, she calmed down and let Twink and Rainbow approach as well. Then without warning the horse reared up again. Quickly they backed off.

"Why is she doing this?" Rainbow asked and then gasped. Underneath all that mud, the horse was brown with white patches, but what upset her was a deep wound on the horse's side and several whip marks. "Who could have done this?" Rainbow said clearly horrified. Brian and Twink came over and had similar reactions. "I don't know Rainbow, but somehow I'll find out who did this. Earth Dancer will never have to go through this again. Brian said eyes determined.

"Hey you kid!" Brian spun around and noticed an older man. Whatever the man was going to say was forgotten as he noticed Earth Dancer. He turned his eyes to the boy. The boy smiled weakly. "You got a minute?"


	3. Chapter 3

Brian had quickly jumped out of his father's car and after a hasty goodbye ran off to the stables looking around briefly for any sight of Earth Dancer. Brian hadn't seen her since that day in the woods. Originally he had planned to visit the next day, but that same day he had ended up with a bad cold due to his time in the rain. The moment he felt better he had his dad drive him to the stables.

Brian had reached the stable doors and eagerly flung them open. Earth Dancer immediately came up to her stall. Brian gave her a loving pat. "I know Earth Dancer. I've missed you too." Earth Dancer snorted. "I'm sorry girl but I don't want you to get hurt."

In response the horse let out an annoyed whinny and turned. Brian got a good look at her side and smiled seeing the whip marks were healing nicely. "Okay girl you win." Brian said as he unlocked the stall, standing out of the way as a blur of brown and white ran out. He walked back outside smiling as Earth Dancer ran around. Then suddenly the horse stopped and ran back towards Brian.

Brian was confused. "Huh? What's wrong Earth Dancer?" In a moment he saw why the horse had retreated. Randall was approaching in an outfit of ice blue and carried a cruel looking whip. However he had stopped seeing Earth Dancer.

Randall eyes were wide, the ice like orbs greedily taking in the sight of a beautiful brown horse with several patches of white on her body and a white mark running down her forehead and nose. He smirked before strolling forward.

"So here's the scoundrel who stole my horse!" Brian was overcome for a moment with shock. "You're... horse?" Randall continued to smirk. "That's right my horse. Crusader was stolen last week from daddy's private racetrack. Now if you don't mind hand her over."

The horse snorted angrily and shook her head and Brian was quick to block his path. "She was not stolen! I found Earth Dancer in the woods and she brought me here."

"Liar!" Randall snarled. In that same motion the whip was flung forward and struck Brian on one of his outstretched arms. Brian automatically grabbed his arm in pain. Randall's smirk had returned. "Now move aside."

Brian's arm still stung badly, but he fought through the pain. "No."

Randall glared at him as well, but he was quick to put on a dismissive tone. "Fine. Be that way." Randall flung his hand backwards intending another strike, but was surprised when he felt a large hand grip it firmly and remove the whip.

Brian looked up and saw the stable manager was there, accompanied by a well dressed man. Randall immediately panicked.

"Daddy!" "This isn't what this looks like." Mr. Maden frowned. You made a promise Randall. But Daddy dearest-

You had promised you would take good care of that horse…and only then would I consider that Arabian Stallion. You broke your promise.

But Daddykins it wasn't my fault! The paperboy he-

Earth Dancer let out an angry whinny. Mr. Maden frowned at the obvious lie and then turned his head to study other boy carefully. The brown haired boy still gripped his arm, but he continued to stand firmly in front of the horse.

"You! Boy!" Brian turned around quickly. "My name is Brian sir." Brian corrected. Mr. Maden nodded dismissively. "Do you race?" He asked suddenly. Brian looked confused. "Uh do you mean horse racing or-"

"Of course I mean horse racing!" Mr. Maden yelled and then calmed down. "Listen boy. I know you saved that horse, the stable manager said so. And I much appreciate it. Crusader there is worth plenty." Earth Dancer suddenly reared up and Brian frowned. "Her name is Earth Dancer sir."

Mr. Maden's own eyes hardened. "Now you listen here boy. That there horse belongs to me and I'll call her what I like." Ignoring Brian, he addressed the horse that had just wandered back towards the stables. "Crusader! Come!" he ordered snapping his fingers sharply. To his shock the horse wouldn't move.

"She won't come to you." Brian said. Mr. Maden looked annoyed. "Quiet Boy! Crusader! Come here now!" When the horse continued to refuse to move, he started to get angry. Randall chose that time to step forward.

"I told you that horse was stupid. If that creature doesn't know its name by now then it's not my fault I tried to make it learn."

Brian had enough. His arm was dull with pain, but once again he ignored it. "Earth Dancer!" Brian called out. Immediately the horse appeared and stopped by Brian's side. "Good girl." Brian smiled while gently rubbing the horse's side.

Mr. Maden was dumbfounded. "She's fond of you no doubt." He admitted reluctantly. "But you're no good to me if you can't race." Brian looked at Earth Dancer. Though she couldn't speak, to Brian her eyes conveyed her thoughts. Making up his mind, Brian looked at Mr. Maden. "I can learn."

Randall laughed. "A paperboy who thinks he's a jockey! Now that would be a sight to see. Or even better! Why don't you have him race that thing on the track? Earth Dancer let out another angry whinny, and Brian was just as mad.

"You know that is not such a bad idea." Everyone immediately turned to face Mr. Maden. "Tell you what boy. If you get Crusad-Earth Dancer ready for the horse races 2 months from now AND she comes in 1st place…. I'll consider giving you her."

Randall immediately protested. "But…Daddy! I was just kidding! Tell me you're not seriously thinking about going through with this!"

Mr. Maden ignored his son and focused on the paperboy. "Well boy?" Brian looked at Earth Dancer and then the older man. "She's not fond of racing, but she's very good at jumping." Brian admitted honestly.

"So she can enter the jumping competition! Alright boy you've got a deal! If Earth Dancer comes in 1st place in BOTH the jumping competition AND the horse races…she's yours. Now go on and get your arm patched up before I change my mind." With that said he walked away.

Brian's eyes went wide. Mr. Maden had almost completely ignored him. Randall noticed his expression and smirked. "See you at the track paperboy!" He commented before leaving as well.

Brian snapped out of his daze and noticed Earth Dancer and sighed. "We're way over our heads on this one…huh girl." Earth Dancer nickered softly and then gently nudged his other hand. "Alright girl I'm going."

Brian winced as gauze was wrapped tightly around his arm. "There! That will hold til you get to a doctor." The stable manger said cheerfully. "Uh thank you."

"Don't mention it! Now you go ahead and call your folks while I take care of that horse of yours." Brian nodded while fingering the chain around his neck.

It was late afternoon in Rainbowland and all the kids were finishing up for the day. Red Butler and Buddy Blue had just driven up in one of the color mine cars, when they noticed a Rainbow in the sky. Buddy Blue looked surprised. "It's Brian! But what's he doing here at this time of day?" Red Butler looked less then pleased. "I don't know. But I hope he has a good reason." As the rainbow landed, both color kids walked over to Brian and gasped. Brian's left arm was wrapped tightly in bandages. "What happened to your arm!" Both the red and the blue color kids seemed to shout at once. Brian smiled weakly. "I found out who owns Earth Dancer. And I am really going to need everyone's help with this one."


	4. Chapter 4

Shy Violet stared at the cast that had replaced Brian's bandages. She was one of the few color kids that had gone down this afternoon with Rainbow to help cheer Brian up. Or as Red Butler put it…

"Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." He had received a glare from La La Orange for that comment. When they had arrived at the stables, Brian was already there sitting on a worn bench. He was watching a brown and white horse jumping over a few obstacles placed all over the small area.

Starlight was astonished. "Is that the same horse? I can hardly recognize her without all the mud." Earth Dancer snorted her annoyance before continuing her jumps.

As everyone went over to greet there Earth friend, they could not help noticing Brian's cast. The solid white cast was a sharp contrast to the dark blue and brown colors Brian wore. As they got closer though they noticed it had a few signatures on it. Getting the idea, Shy Violet signed her name and then continued to stare at his cast. After a moment she gently tapped on part of it.

"Fascinating! It's like a giant egg shell, only harder." "And a whole lot heavier." Brian added while frowning at his cast.

"Cheer up Brian! At least you won't have to wear it for long!" Patty O' Green said cheerfully while signing her name on his cast in Green.

"Yeah, but it's still a month or so." Brian sighed and then smiled. "I'm really glad you guys came to help me with Earth Dancer."

"Anytime Brian! And besides with your arm like that, it'll be harder to practice without help." Buddy Blue added as he signed as well.

At least your cast is a lot more colorful now. But I still don't understand how you got it in the first place." Rainbow Brite questioned.

Brian immediately looked uncomfortable. "Uh I rather not talk about it."

"We understand." Rainbow smiled. "Now where's Earth Dancer?"

Brian looks around and notices the horse had disappeared. Gently he whistles. The whistle echoes around the area and after a moment or two Earth Dancer reappears and runs towards Brian.

Earth Dancer had almost reached them when all of a sudden there is a loud popping sound. The sound was so loud that it caused everyone to jump and Earth Dancer to rear up in fright.

"What was that?" Patty asked. Before anyone could answer, they saw Earth Dancer retreating in another direction. Brian started to get up, but Rainbow stopped him.

"We'll get her Brian." Rainbow said as she jumped on Starlight. Starlight started to gallop away, but stopped as Earth Dancer came back. But she was not alone. She was being closely followed by a few of Randall's gang who were busy trying to lasso the frightened horse.

"Cut that out!" Brian yelled out as he sprang from the bench and ran forward with Buddy and Patty close behind.

The two bullies had seen the paperboy move, but had ignored him concentrating on there target. Fortunately the boys had very poor roping skills. Mostly they ended up throwing the ropes anywhere but the horse.

Everything stopped however when they heard someone laughing cruelly. "How's the arm paperboy?" Randall mocked as he strolled forward with whip in hand.

"You know how it is!" Brian yelled out angrily. Brian was so focused on Randall, that he didn't notice his friends looking at them confused. The confusion then turned to horror as they continued to listen.

"Of course I do." Randall smirked. He then paused and snapped his fingers sharply. Immediately another member of his gang comes up with a piece of paper. Randall takes the paper and looks at it in disinterest.

"Not that it matters. There are no witnesses and you'll be lucky if it heals in time for race day 20 days from now." He said casually as if it was nothing of real importance. He watched with satisfaction as the paper boy pales.

"What!" Brian said in disbelief. He reached over to take the paper from Randall, but the rich boy instead of handing him the paper…let it drop. Brian quickly grabs it with his other hand just before it hit the ground. His hopes sank as he looked at it.

"Thanks to a generous donation…the horse races have been moved up." Brian read dejectedly.

Randall looks at Brian haughtily. "That's right paperboy. So I guess that means…"

Randall's arrogant grin turned nasty. "You can no longer compete. I'll be taking "Crusader" home now." A sharp snap of his fingers causes his gang to approach the reluctant horse.

As the horse is forcibly herded towards Randall, Brian's eyes darkened. Once again he blocked Randall's path towards Earth Dancer, determined to keep the mean spirited youth from the horse.

Randall shakes his head, but continues to smile wickedly. "Some people never learn there lesson."

The whip in his hand whipped forward, but Brian is yanked out of the way thanks to Buddy. To everyone else's eyes, it looked like Brian had thrown himself out of the way.

Randall growled and moves the whip forward again…and while he is unable to see the rainbow that had gathered around the whip, he feels it yanked away.

"Hey!" he yelled angrily. Immediately the spoiled boy ran for his favorite toy only to find it somehow kept changing places. Earth Dancer in the meantime had taken advantage of the minor distraction and had retreated, but once again was being chased by Randall's gang.

"Oh no you don't!" Patty O' Green cried out as she ran towards the bullies determined to stop them. Shy Violet had followed her, but had stopped when she noticed one of the discarded lassos nearby. Immediately she got an idea. "Wait Patty!"

Patty stopped and turned around. She saw Violet holding one end of the rope. "Grab the other end! Violet insisted. Patty does so. "Okay now what?" "Get ready." Violet warned as the gang members approached there location.

"Ready….Set…. Now!" Violet yelled out, promptly pulling back on her side of the rope while Patty did the same on her end. The bullies tripped over the taunt rope and fell to the ground. Randall sees them on the ground and is furious. "Stop tripping over your own feet and get that horse!" he yelled out.

"Randall Maden! Stop this right now!" A loud voice suddenly bellowed. Randall spun around in anger. "Who dares!" he growled out.

"I do." The same voice spoke again. Randall growled again and notices his whip nearby. He lunges for it and finally manages to grab the handle. Grinning wickedly he grabs it. "Now you're going to pay. No one talks back to me and gets away with it!"

Triumphantly he lashes out with the whip, but to his dismay and further annoyance, the whip only strikes air. Randall turns his head to search for his target and feels his whip hand being tightly squeezed until he drops the whip.

"Owwwwwwwwwww!" He howled out in pain. But only when he was forced to drop the whip, did the pressure on his arm cease. Randall grabbed his injured hand. It still throbbed a bit. "How dare you-"

Randall's voice died in his throat as he noticed the stable owner glaring at him. "Uh Mr. Adams! I can explain-"

Mr. Adams crossed his arms. "I've told you before. Anyone who harms a living soul is unwelcome here. I insist that you leave now."

The fear in Randall's voice evaporated and he stood up defiantly. "I'll leave as soon as I get MY horse."

The snobbish boy cowered seeing the look on the stable owner's face.

"You injured Brian Brown and tried to embarrass him in front of your father and it backfired. And even though the tasks are nearly impossible to do…you didn't want to take any chances. You moved the competition up knowing Brian would be unable to compete." Mr. Adams said bluntly.

"That's right! And I won." Randall said arrogantly. He waited for the old man to admit defeat and bow to his greatness. To his annoyance the man looked at him calmly. "The race hasn't started yet." He said.

That did it. Randall blew his top. "Who cares!" He yelled out. Paperboy's arm is broken. He… can't…. compete. Randall's voice lost its anger and regained its superiority. After a moment he smugly added…"Oh and no substitutes. The deal was for Paperboy to race. And since he can't-"

"-Until race day, Earth Dancer will stay here." Mr. Adams interrupted. "Now leave." He said gesturing to the exit. Randall glares darkly, but then he smirks.

"Not much good it will do you. Paperboy's just on borrowed time. CRUSADER is MINE and the sooner you remember it the better." Randall snaps his whip in the air before leaving and is followed by his gang.

Several minutes pass without anyone saying anything... but finally the silence is broken. "I didn't know your last name was Brown." Rainbow finally spoke up.

She immediately regretted it when Brian glared at her. As if sensing his emotions, Earth Dancer trotted over and knelt down slightly so Brian could climb on.

"Brian stop! Your going to injure your arm further if you-" Buddy Blue's words fell on deaf ears as Brian leaves the stable area.

"We've got to go after him!" As Rainbow starts to get back on Starlight a calm voice stops her. "Leave him be little miss."

Rainbow and the color kids turn around in surprise as they see Mr. Adams staring calmly at them. The older man was in his late forties and is a little on the heavy side. His clothing was worn but well taken care of. After looking at each other for a few seconds one of the kids spoke.

"You can see us?" Patty questioned. The stable manager smiled. "Course I can. Names Russell Adams. I run the stable here." He held out his hand. After a moment Rainbow takes it.

"I'm Rainbow Brite. And these are my friends." Russell greets all of them with a warm smile. "It's a pleasure." Russell said warmly.

The children smiled at him, but kept glancing off to the side. "Don't worry. He'll be fine. He just needs some time to cool off." Russell said wisely. They looked back him. Shy Violet looked thoughtful. "The angle and force behind that whip…and if Brian had his left hand out…."

Shy Violet then realized something. "That's how his arm was broken!" She said with a mixture of surprise, dread, and a tiny bit of anger. The other kids look at her in surprise and then at the stable owner. When Russell nods gravely, it all starts to fall into place.

"No wonder Brian was so upset." Rainbow said softly. "I never thought I'd ever meet someone even worse then Murky." Buddy added and the other kids silently nodded.

"I hope you kids will be around to help him out. Unfortunately the spoiled brat is right. Brian is on borrowed time, now that the scales have been tipped directly in the brat's favor." Russell said gravely.

"Then we have to tip it back." Rainbow said with determination. "Yeah!" The other kids cried out as well. Russell admired there enthusiasm but knew it would take a lot more then positive thinking to put Brian back into the race. It would take a miracle.


	5. Chapter 5

A miracle that looked like it would never happen. A week had passed since Brian had stormed off, and while Earth Dancer had been returned to her stall, the Earth boy had not been seen since. Rainbow Brite looked around the area. When Brian once again did not appear she frowned.

"I don't understand…this is the 7th day Brian hasn't shown up. I hope nothing bad has happened." Red Butler turned to look at her briefly with a few apples in his hand. "Well considering Brian's luck I wouldn't be surprised…"

He then noticed everyone glaring at him. "Well its true isn't it?" The Red color kid defended. "Every time Brian comes to Rainbowland he almost always ends up being attacked by Murky."

He stopped briefly to feed an apple to Earth Dancer and then to Starlight before continuing. "Remember when he wanted to stand watch?" Canary Yellow and Indigo giggled a bit in remembrance.

Rainbow frowned at them. "I don't think Brian would do this on purpose." She insisted. Starlight finished the rest of his apple before he strode forward importantly. "Rainbow's right. There has to be some kind of reason why Brian hasn't been coming." Starlight added.

"There is a reason kids." Startled everyone turned around and saw Russell Adams approaching. The stable owner paused and looked at them strangely. "Did that horse just talk?" The kids nodded their heads and the white horse with the Rainbow mane snorted at him indignantly. "I'll have you know that I am no ordinary horse!"

Russell just stared at them with a look of calm acceptance. "Okay then." He then started to walk away when the girl in the indigo outfit stopped him. "Wait! Mr. Russell sir…what happened to Brian?" Indigo spoke up. Russell looked down at the child and then at her friends. After a moment he sighed.

"Well…Randall struck again and got Brian in a whole lot of trouble." The boy in red immediately took charge of the situation. "What happened?" he demanded.

Russell thought for a moment. "I really don't know…you would need to ask Brian." He said. He took a few steps and then turned back to look at the group. "Later kids." That said Mr. Adams left.

After a few minutes of silence Rainbow Brite spoke up. "I knew there was something wrong." But what can we do? Canary added. Rainbow thought for a moment. "Well first we need someone to talk to Brian."

Rainbow looks pointedly at Red Butler. Finally he sighed. "Alright I'll do it." With that Red touched the star symbol on his belt sending out a beam of red and rode it out of sight.

Rainbow then turned back to the others. "While Red Butler is talking to Brian, the rest of us will stay here in case Randall decides to come back." She notices the remaining color kids and Starlight looking at her strangely. "What?"

"Are you sure it was a good idea to let Red check on Brian?" Canary Yellow questioned. Rainbow smiled. "I know they don't really see eye to eye Canary, but deep down I believe they are friends."

"If you say so Rainbow." Indigo said doubtfully.

For a moment Red Butler smiled to himself when he noticed that the cars that were normally in the driveway at Brian's house were gone. Hopefully it meant that meant Brian was elsewhere. But after closer inspection he noticed that several of the windows to the house were open and the smell of chocolate was in the air.

He sighed to himself. "Better get this over with." Red thought. Red Butler touched his belt again and sent his beam downward. A moment after he touched the ground the beam disappeared.

After looking carefully around, Red crept to the door and softly turned the handle. He was momentarily surprised when it swung open easily. After once more making sure no one was watching he stepped inside.

The hallway he had stepped into was done in various shades of Brown. Red had been momentarily tempted to add some red to the surroundings, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. First things first. The sooner he found the stubborn Earth Boy...the sooner he could leave.

Surprisingly it wasn't that hard. He turned a corner and found himself in the kitchen. Brian was there sitting at a table with several books and scattered papers in front of him. He held a pen in his good hand and had a bored look on his face.

After a minute or so he sighed disgustedly to himself and slammed the book shut. Brian turned his head to look at the kitchen clock and immediately noticed the Red Color kid staring at him. "Red Butler? What are you doing here? Brian questioned his eyes full of surprise.

"You weren't at the stables, so I decided to check up on you." Brian looked at him in disbelief and got up. Red watched him walk over to the far side of the kitchen. "So what happened?" Red Butler prodded.

"I'm suspended." Brian said huffily. He roughly opened several of the kitchen drawers with his good hand and then ruffled through them before slamming them closed again. He backtracked a moment and pulled out some measuring cups before slamming the door shut once more.

"Someone threw a baseball through the principal's window at school and I was blamed." Brian went back over to the book filled table and shoved the books out of the way, many landing with a crash on the floor. Ignoring them he placed the measuring cups on the counter before heading towards the kitchen cabinets. "Until this mess is straightened out, I can't leave the house!" He said angrily.

Red Butler was stunned. He had known Brian for a long time and never had he seen Brian this angry before. Even when they were fighting in the boat, or had their occasional clashes, there was always a joking or competitive tone to their anger. Here there was none. Brian was very upset. Red opened his mouth to say something when a loud beep sounds.

Brian walks over to the oven and opens the door to the stove. He grabs an oven mitt, before proceeding to remove a few pans each containing a layer of chocolate cake. He then puts them on top of the stove to cool.

That simple act seemed to have a calming effect. Brian let out a huge sigh before turning to face the other boy who was still staring at him. "I'm sorry Red." Brian sighed again. "I've been under a lot of pressure lately."

"So I've noticed." Red said dryly. He walked over to the stove and pointed at the cake layers.

"Did you make those Brian?" Brian nodded. "It's my mom's birthday." A weak smile appeared on his face. "Just because I'm grounded doesn't mean I can't still make her something."

Wisely Red continued. "I didn't know you liked to bake." Brian nodded offhandedly. "I do sometimes. Mostly I just make pancakes and cakes and stuff."

Red Butler looked at him oddly. "Pancakes? What's that?" Brian looked stunned for a moment before he laughed. "You're definitely from another planet Red!"

The Red Color kid didn't share in the Earth Boy's amusement. "And what is that supposed to mean?" He challenged. Brian tried to hide his amusement. "Nothing." He walked over to the fridge. "Maybe I'll make them for you guys sometime."

Brian removes a bowl of brown icing from the fridge, places it on the table and then goes to the freezer and removes two more cake layers. Red once again looked at him oddly.

Brian noticed his look and decided to clarify. "Rule number one. When you make "anything" involving chocolate…always make two." Red Butler smiled back.

"No wonder your last name is Brown." Red joked as followed Brian to the table. When Brian didn't respond he tried again. "Brian?" To his confusion Brian seemed a bit dazed. "I was always told …never to reveal the rest of my name." Brian placed the cake on a plate and started frosting it. "Only 3 people know it. I wonder how Russell knew…." The earth boy muttered to himself offhandedly.

Red Butler frowned to himself, before he changed the subject. "I'm sure it's not that important." Red remarked nonchalantly. Almost immediately the other boy snapped out of his daze. "I'm sure you're right Red." Brian quickly agreed.

For the next few minutes, both boys worked on the cake. While Brian smoothed the frosting out, Red Butler carefully wrote "Happy Birthday!" on the top and added a few stars around the sides. "How's that?"

Brian put down his spatula and blinked for a moment. The contrast of Red and Brown icing was a bit unusual. Brian looked thoughtful for a minute, before he went to the freezer once more. He came back with his hands full of walnuts. Gently Brian pressed a walnut between each of the stars. As he inspected the cake once more he smiled.

"There!" he said brightly. With Red Butler's help the cake was put inside the refrigerator. The moment it was put inside, the clock in the kitchen chimed. Both kids stared at the clock in surprise. After a moment Red spoke up.

"I've got to go now Brian." Brian nodded. "I understand. I still have a lot of work to do myself." "Oh and thanks for cheering me up." He added. Red Butler nodded. "See you later Brian."

As Red Butler left the house and activated his belt, there was a sudden strong breeze. Without warning, a piece of paper blew out of the windows…and right into his face.

Annoyed Red grabbed the paper and noticed a few red x's dotted the paper and at the very top was a percentage. As he studied the paper however, his eyes widened. Once again he activated his belt and rode off back to the stables.


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you sure this is the right one? "Starlight questioned. Rainbow Brite took a good look at the sign and shook her head. "No. That's West Grove Central."

"Well that figures!" Red Butler said disgustedly. The Red color kid glanced at the paper. At the top was Brian's name followed by the date and the name of his school. "All we have to do is find the school and the broken window." Rainbow had reasoned.

Unfortunately that proved much harder then originally anticipated. Red Butler thought it was some cruel cosmic joke that Brian's house was in some form or another surrounded by schools. Each the same distance, and each identical to the last, the only exception to the rule was the school name. Due to that similarity, they often ended back at schools they had previously visited.

"Is that the one?" Starlight questioned once more. Rainbow looked at the sign. "No. That's East Grove Central." Starlight snorted. "Why can't people make schools more noticeable? Or at least paint them a different color." Red smiled. "That's not a bad idea!" And before Rainbow could stop him, he pulled out one of his star sprinkles and tossed it at the grey building. The result was the black letters that proclaimed the school's name, were now a brilliant red.

"There! Now we can tell them apart." Red said proudly. Rainbow frowned at him. "That wasn't very nice." She said simply before tapping her belt sending the Rainbow onward. It took a bit more searching, but they finally found it. "There it is! North Grove Central!" Rainbow said happily. Red shook his head as he saw the school. Unlike the others this one was a brown color. "Figures." Red thought to himself with a smile.

Rainbow didn't notice. She was concentrating on the school windows. "I don't see it." She said with a slight frown. Red Butler and Starlight looked as well. "It's got to be here somewhere…" Starlight said as he circled the school. Finally they found it.

The broken window was located amid several trees and bushes making it very hard to see. As they landed and looked inside they noticed a chubby gentleman wearing a suit. He sat at a large desk and was currently working on a stack of papers. He paused and started opening drawers searching for something. One of the drawers held a battered baseball.

"If only we could get that ball!" Starlight said. "We can do it. We just have to be careful." Rainbow added. "And not be seen." Red said under his breath. Fortunately luck was with them. Just then there was a loud noise and the sound of jeers. Immediately the man went to investigate. Once the coast was clear Red Butler carefully climbed into the open window. After checking the door to make sure he wasn't being watched, he removed the baseball from the drawer. As he examined it, his eyes widened and he let out a laugh.

"What is it Red?" Rainbow wondered. The Red color kid grinned. "This isn't Brian's ball!" He grinned as he showed them the baseball. The name Bryn Mrks was written there in huge sloppy black letters. Rainbow compared it to the paper. "You're right Red! The ink's the wrong color!" "And Brian's not a slob". Starlight added. "Now we can prove his innocence." Rainbow Brite said happily.

Red Butler smiled as well, but his smile disappeared when he heard someone approaching. "Someone's coming!" he warned. Rainbow handed him the baseball and Brian's paper. "Quick Red! Put these on the desk." Red does so and exits just seconds before the man entered. Unaware that he was being watched, the man sat at his desk and was grumbling to himself about chewing gum and a ceiling fan. As he reached for his papers, he froze.

Strange…there was a student's paper there as well as the baseball. He shrugged to himself. "That's odd. I thought I put this away." The principal wondered out loud before he replaced the ball and moved the paper off to the side. He then continued what he was doing.

Unseen to him the watchers gasped. No longer caring if he was seen or not Red Butler crept back into the window. After making sure the man was occupied, he opened the drawer. As the drawer opened however, the principal immediately turned to the right…and saw no one. To his confusion however the baseball had vanished. The principal frowned and turned back to his work, only to find the student's paper and the ball were once again side by side.

He stared at them for a moment before casting a hard look around his office, trying to locate the culprits. To his confusion there was no one there. Out of curiosity he moved aside the student's paper. Almost immediately the paper was moved back. The principal blinked and then rubbed his eyes. The paper and the ball were still there…but there was a boy in red clothes there as well. His eyes widened and once more he rubbed them. When he opened his eyes the boy was gone. "I've been working too hard." The man reasoned.

His eyes wander back to the two objects. No matter how many times he would move them, they would always end up right next to each other. Clearly some ghost or apparition must be trying to tell him something. He sighed to himself and picked up the paper. He glanced at it for a moment before he smiled and shook his head. "Brian Marks." He said to himself.

Brian was a good student, a little reserved and a bit of a loner, but a good student. The only thing odd about him was he always wrote in brown ink instead of the required black. Often he had been given black pens to use instead, but he refused to use them. Usually that resulted in a lecture or a trip to his office. The principal sighed. Until last week the only thing Brian had done wrong was write in brown ink.

The student was currently suspended for two weeks for throwing a baseball though his window. Till the end the boy kept protesting his innocence. The older man sighed and picked up the offending ball. As he rolled it in his hand he noticed the name Bryn Mrks written in large sloppy black letters. Brian would never write in black ink. He thought offhandedly. Suddenly he froze before examining the two objects more closely. Then he noticed the two objects. The paper was written neatly and in brown ink. The ball was practically covered in very sloppy black letters. "And Brian's name is spelled wrong." The principal muttered under his breath. Without another word he picked up the phone.

Outside Red Butler frowned. "Well it sure took him long enough!" He said before climbing back on Starlight. Rainbow Brite smiled. "Hopefully it will be enough to clear Brian!" Starlight snorted. "That rich boy's probably behind this." Rainbow quickly turned her head around to face the horse. "Oh no!" She cried out. She then touched her belt sending out the rainbow once more. "Hurry Starlight! We have to get to the stables!"

As Rainbow Brite had feared, Randall's goons were there and accompanied by some very large men with ropes. The villainous group were currently shielding there eyes from a very bright light. The light was coming from a yellow star sprinkle that Canary Yellow held up. Indigo had taken advantage of the temporary handicap and had tied their shoelaces together. Both had looked up when they heard the sound of a horse galloping.

"Rainbow! Earth Dancer is in the-" Canary had started to say before she was knocked to the ground by one of the men. In the process the star sprinkle was knocked from her hands and disappeared. "Canary!" Red yelled out as he jumped off of Starlight and raced over. The horse stealing group had recovered. They tried to run towards a large black truck only to trip and fall to the ground. Red luckily had pulled Canary out of the way. "Whew! Thanks Red!" Canary said cheerfully.

Meanwhile Indigo had raced over towards Rainbow and Starlight. "Rainbow! The truck!" The indigo color kid cried out. Rainbow looked over to where her friend was pointing and gasped. The murky looking truck was starting to spew smoke as it started to move away. And inside she saw Earth Dancer rearing up and dashing forward, only to be restrained by a rope around her neck.

Rainbow frowned and urged Starlight towards the truck. Unfortunately the door was securely fashioned thanks to a large lock. Rainbow frowned deeper. "I won't give up!" She said firmly. Without warning the rainbow came out of her belt and wrapped around the lock. There is a clicking sound just before the lock fell off.

Starlight looked at her in surprise. "How in the world-" he started to say. Rainbow was still stunned. "I don't know Starlight." She admitted. The upset wail of a horse brought them back to reality. Rainbow opened the door and carefully dismounted. She walked slowly towards the trapped horse. Earth Dancer was still fighting the rope when she noticed one of the good children approaching. Instantly she started to calm down.

Rainbow Brite noticed and smiled. "That's right. I'm not going to hurt you." She coaxed. Gently she took off the rope that trapped Earth Dancer in the truck. Rainbow then slowly moved towards the exit. Earth Dancer had willingly followed until Rainbow had activated her belt. The horse immediately reared up in fright at the sight of the rainbow. It took a bit more coaxing from Rainbow before Earth Dancer slowly stepped onto the rainbow.

Randall's gang and the men stared dumbfounded at the truck. After fixing their shoelaces, they started back towards the truck, only to find it moving away. Also the back door to the truck had suddenly opened and "Crusader" was standing at the very edge. After a moment or two, the horse slowly moved forward. As expected they ran forward in a panic. If they were lucky the horse would be spooked back into the makeshift trailer.

Instead what happened next would defy all logic. To their shock the horse vanished into thin air, and the truck moved onwards down the road. Frantically they searched the surrounding area where the truck was. Unseen to them Canary Yellow, Red Butler, and Indigo laughed delightedly before activating their belts. One of the gang had turned around and to his confusion saw beams of Red, Yellow, and Indigo rising into the sky.


	7. Chapter 7

"Brian stared dejectedly into his plate. Normally he would dig into his food with gusto, but today was different. Listlessly he stirred his scrambled eggs around with his fork. He looked upwards and saw his dad reading over some important papers, and his mom doing the dishes. The normally cheerful atmosphere was for once quiet.

After a moment he sighed. "I didn't throw that ball." At that his dad looked up. "You were caught outside Brian. Not only did you lie to us about not ditching school, but you also damaged school property. Your mother and I are extremely disappointed in you."

For a moment Brian stared at his parents in complete shock and disbelief. The looks his parents gave him were too much for him to bear. Without a word, he pushed his chair out and stood up.

"Brian…" his mom warned. Brian ignored them and left the kitchen. As he passed the hallway, the doorbell rang. Normally the adolescent boy would answer it immediately. But not even the cheery bells could break him out of his depression. He ignored those as well as he continued on upstairs.

Brian stared dejectedly at the ceiling. The feelings of not being trusted anymore by his parents….it was worse then the time he had his colors drained courtesy of Murky's Monstromurk. For a moment Brian had considered going to Rainbowland, but quickly boycotted that idea. Even seeing his friends would not take away this awful feeling.

"Brian…" Brian reluctantly tore his gaze from the ceiling and stared at his father who stood in front of him with an apologetic look on his face. "That was your principal at the door." His father said. When the adolescent continued to remain silent the elder continued.

"He found one of your test papers on his desk next to the baseball." Brian blinked and looked at him questioningly. His dad took that as a cue. "Principal Cosley said one of your friends put it on his desk. A boy dressed in red wearing a cape.

At that description Brian's eyes widened and he smiled. Red Butler. He thought. His father smiled as well. "Thanks to your friend, you're no longer suspended."

"And you always thought it was a bad idea for me to write in brown ink." Brian teased. His father smiled. "That's why Principal Cosley knew it wasn't your ball."

A sudden thump on the stairs had both males running to the doorway. To Brian's confusion his mom was now humming cheerfully as she carried a brown suitcase down the stairs. Another suitcase was lying at the foot of the steps. No doubt it was the cause of the thumping. Brian stared at his dad confused.

"Uhhh…dad…why are the suitcases out?" His dad smiled broadly. "Pack up son, because we're going on vacation!" As expected the young boy stared at him. "Vacation?"

The dad's smile got broader. "It's the perfect way to celebrate your Mother's birthday and you're not being grounded!" He said cheerfully before leaving the room. A few minutes later another brown suitcase is dropped by his door. Brian stared at it for a minute and sighed. He would need to call Mr. Adams. With that thought in mind, he started to pack.

The minute Brian had come down the stairs with the now full suitcase, he quickly found himself ushered outside and into the family car where his dog and mom waited. His dad locked the door to the house and threw the suitcase in the truck before getting in and driving away.

It had taken quite a bit of persuasion to get his dad stop at the stables. Only at his mom's insistence did his father finally agree. "10 minutes." He warned. Brian nodded. "Okay dad!" He yelled out as he ran off.

As expected Brian wasn't very pleased to find Earth Dancer missing. Frantically the boy ran from area to area searching for the beautiful brown and white beauty to no avail. As he searched he suddenly had a horrified thought. "Randall!" His mind screamed. Quickly he turned around and gasped in shock seeing Russell Adams behind him.

Russell smiled back calmly at the frantic boy. "Your horse is safe." He said simply. Brian stared at him dumbfounded. "Did you-" he trailed off. Russell shook his head and smiled. "It was those friends of yours. While you were grounded, Randall and his hoodlums had tried to take Earth Dancer. He paused briefly before continuing.

"Had a truck and everything too. But those friends of yours were there to stop them. Last I saw of Earth Dancer was that Rainbow girl and some of the other kids leading her up a rainbow."

Brian stared at him in shock before he started to smile. "Thank you so much Russell!" He started to run back to the car. "Wait!" Brian turned quickly towards the cry and met Russell's eyes. "I've told Mr. Maden about the races being moved and the danger Earth Dancer had been put in." The stable manger smiled. "Think you can be ready for the races in 3 months?"

Brian grinned. This was even better then he had hoped for! 3 months were more then enough time for his arm to heal and more then enough time to practice. "We'll be there Russell! You can count on it!" With that said Brian raced back to the car.

The next morning in Rainbowland, the sprites had momentarily stopped working at the sight of the rainbow. But unlike the other ones they had seen, this rainbow was tiny and not big enough to carry anyone. Curiously they watched as the rainbow landed and then vanished. At first they had not thought much of it. That is until one green sprite suddenly ran forward.

The sprite picked up something off of the ground and examined it. Afterwards he chattered excitedly in sprite before dashing off to the color castle. Inside the castle, the color kids were hard at work at their consoles. Thanks to an earlier attack from Murky, parts of Rainbowland had lost their color. Fortunately it was quickly fixed.

"Shy Violet smiled. "That's the last of it." She said as she stood up. Indigo hit a last button on her panel and sighed. "I hope that's the last of the surprises today." She said quietly. "Oh come on Indigo! Surprises are fun!" Patty O'Green chatted cheerfully. "As long as there not the Murky kind." Buddy Blue added. Next to him Red Butler nodded. "Boy I'll say! I hope I never see another gloom in the box."

At that moment the door opened. Surprised the kids turned around guardedly, only to see one of Patty's sprites walk in chattering excitedly. "Shamrock!" She said cheerfully. Her eyes widened seeing the sprite had a letter in his hand.

"May I see it Shamrock?" A cheerful voice questioned behind him. Shamrock turned to see Rainbow Brite behind him. Wordlessly he handed her the letter which she opened. She smiled immediately.

Whose it's from Rainbow? Canary questioned as the other color kids and sprites gathered around. Rainbow smiled. It's from Brian! She said before reading it out loud.

Hey everyone!

Thanks for clearing my name. Especially you Red. Dad is celebrating my ungrounding and my mom's birthday by taking us on vacation, so it might be awhile for I see you guys.

Thanks for looking after Earth Dancer for me…but in the future…could you give me a little warning next time? I was really panicking until Russell explained.

The best part is Mr. Maden found out about Randall's horse stealing attempts and I now have 3 months to practice for the competition!

I gotta go…my dad's calling. See you guys in a few weeks.

Brian


	8. Chapter 8

The sky flashed in warning before a torrent of rain came down. The strong winds made it impossible to keep umbrellas open, forcing everyone outside to run for shelter. High above the rainstorm, a little girl laughed delightedly, before stomping on the clouds. The result was more rain fell from the sky.

Stormy relished days like this. The moment she had found out about Brian's vacation, she had immediately set to work. The following days would be filled with constant rain, wind, thunderstorms and lightning. She would make sure of that.

And it made the long wait for the winter season that much easier. Stormy smiled as she looked in the direction of Russell's stable. The dirt road leading to it was completely impassable due to the heavy flooding. But it didn't stop the more foolish ones to try anyway.

The gloomy truck that tried to take Brian's horse away was now partially submerged in the water. Inside the truck, an upset Randall made his annoyance known.

"Idiots!" He growled out as he smacked the truck's dashboard. Angrily he turned to the side and glared at the two members of his gang unfortunate enough to be in the truck with him. "Get out there and push now!"

The two looked at each other, the weather outside and then Randall before daring to speak. "But boss…it's raining pretty hard out theres." The other boy quickly agreed. "Yeah Randall…maybe we should just try another day."

Despite the wind, the truck door is forced open and the two henchboys let out a scream as they were shoved outside, hitting the water with a thunderous splash.

Stormy couldn't help it. She fell to her knees laughing hard as she watched the two bullies wallow in the muddy water. The duo had obviously not heard about teamwork. Whenever one of the brutish boys staggered to his feet, he was immediately pushed back to the watery ground by the other one. On one attempt, one of the boys had actually picked up the other and threw him with vigor.

Stormy was so involved in the scene below that she didn't hear the hoof beats behind her. "Stormy!" The look of merriment faded from her face and she stood up. She turned to face the intruder with a look of defiance.

"I'm not done yet Rainbow!" She declared. Rainbow Brite looked at the other girl firmly from atop Starlight. "Stormy! It's been raining for 7 days! Enough is enough!"

"Brian's not back yet! And until he is I'm not stopping!" She stated rebelliously before stomping hard. Rainbow had had enough with trying to reason with the storm kid and placed a finger on her belt. The finger quickly fell away when she noticed a hole was now punched into the cloud. No doubt from Stormy's violent jump. Curiously she gazed down at the scene below.

The two bullies had finally made it to the back of the truck only to face a new series of difficulties. The truck refused to move and with each push they became more and more buried in the mud. Inside the truck Randall's face was as red as a tomato and he yelled silent threats at the back window.

Fate though would finally have pity on the stranded boys. The moment an old beat up tow truck appeared, the rain had stopped and the sun started to come out. The aged truck stopped not far from the trapped vehicle and the door opened revealing Russell Adams. The older man whistled a cheerful tune as he hooked a metal hook attached to a chain to the other truck.

In no time at all the black truck was free. Russell walked over with a long rope. As he passed the passenger side door it suddenly flung open violently knocking him onto the ground. Almost instantly Randall pounced on the downed adult.

"Where is she?!" He shouted out angrily. With little effort Russell gently pushed the irate boy off his chest and stood up. "Oh good!" The stable owner declared happily as he picked up the fallen rope and placed it firmly in the rich boy's hands despite his furious protests. The other end he threw into the middle of the flood where the trapped boys were.

"Now boys! Grab the rope so your little friend and I can to pull you out of there! Ready? On the count of 3! One…..Two…..Three!" Randall had immediately thrown down his part of the rope in protest, or tried too. To his surprise and absolute fury, his hands were stuck to the rope courtesy of a smaller rope tied around his wrists. He was so intent on removing the offensive object that he didn't see his cohorts pull the rope instead of holding it until it was too late.

The force the other boys had used was enough to send him flying into the muddy water. Face first. Randall let out an outraged cry as he turned his head to stare venomously at the stable owner who had managed to stay out of the mud. Russell ignored it and smiled brightly. "Good try guys, but this isn't tug of war." With a sudden heave he is able to drag Randall out of the water. Several more pulls and the other boys are pulled out as well.

"You know… maybe it would have worked better if I tied the end to my truck." Russell thought offhandedly before turning back to the mud covered trio. "You boys are sure lucky I was around to help! Otherwise you'd be stranded here for quite a whi-"

"Shut up!" Randall interrupted angrily before jabbing a finger harshly into Russell's chest. "Listen up old man! That horse you're holding for paperboy is MINE. And YOU'RE going to give Crusader back. And YOU'RE going to do it NOW." He hissed out. Every word of the spoiled boy's venom filled speech was punctuated by increasingly cruel stabs to the older man's chest.

The happiness disappeared from Russell's eyes and was replaced with an instant hardness as the younger boy continued to show off his callousness and ignorance. It wasn't until the rich boy and his friends dared to raise their fists against him that it happened. The sky abruptly darkened and a bolt of lightning came hurdling out the sky. With a loud crack it hit the muddy water. Everyone jumped from the impact. Randall immediately rounded on Mr. Adams.

"You did that on purpose!" He snarled. Almost immediately another bolt of lightning hit the ground again. Russell stared at him steadfast, but couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as he stared upwards at the dark clouds. "I don't control the weather." He said smiling.

The smile quickly faded and Russell grabbed the brat's hands tightly. "I believe I will be having a chat with your parents." He cast his eyes skyward and winked at the clouds before dragging Randall and his friends into the tow truck.

Stormy blinked. Did that person actually wink at her?! She shook her head and smiled. "Okay…maybe I have been working too hard." She reasoned out loud before summoning her own horse, Sky Dancer. Without a word she climbed on and the pair took off.

Imagi's Ramblings

Wow! Thank you guys so much for reading:) And those who left a review...you guys are awesome:) My last reviewer Casey...I got to say those comments you wrote were great:) I pride myself on being original and unique and if I accomplish a truely wonderful story out of the process...that's just too cool. :D I'm glad your enjoying it:) Okay your last question...let me just say your very clever to pick up on that:) And my answer is No...and Yes. ;) Thanks so much for reading:)

I'm gonna try and update this more frequently so stay tuned! And as always thanks a lot everyone:)

Imagi


	9. Chapter 9

"Rats! You're back already!" Stormy complained as she dismounted in front of the castle. Colorful blankets were set out on the ground around the castle each filled with food, kids and sprites. Brian grinned at her from his spot next to Tickled Pink. "Good to see you too, Stormy." After a moment, the sour frown on the storm child's face turned into a tiny smile.

"Oh well it was fun while it lasted." After taking a quick around at the occupied blankets, she joined Brian and Tickled Pink on theirs. To her confusion every few minutes, several sprites would come up and congregate around the earth boy. Brian would automatically put the food or drink he held and moved his broken arm within reach of the eager sprites. The former white cast now had so many colorful signatures that it looked like a living rainbow.

Stormy couldn't help smirking. Tickled Pink noticed her reaction and giggled. "Well Dee-light saw me signing Brian's cast and she wanted to sign it too…and then Champ, OJ and Hammy came in and before we knew it everyone wanted to sign his cast!" Tickled Pink giggled again and Stormy grinned as another group of sprites approached their earth friend.

So how many sprites DID sign your cast? She grinned mischievously. Brian smiled weakly at her. "I've lost count." He turned his head towards the nearest blanket where La La Orange, Indigo and Canary Yellow sat. "How many sprites do you guys have anyways?!" Brian complained. The color kids laughed. "There just curious about your cast." Indigo said softly. "Yes. It's quite unusual. I've never seen anything like it." La La Orange added.

"Don't worry Brian! I think almost all of the sprites have signed it already." Patty O'Green chimed from another blanket. Brian smiled back. "Good. My arm was starting to get numb." Next to Patty, Shy Violet put down her drink before adjusting her glasses. "Actually Patty I've calculated that the amount of total sprites that have sighed Brian's cast is actually only…."

Shy Violet trailed off as she noticed more sprites had come up. "Okay with the addition of Buddy's sprites Blueberry and Sport and Canary's Sparks, Buttercup and Bumble….oh and La La's Soufflé and-"

"Violet!" Everyone yelled out at once, making the violet color kid jump. "Oh!" She said in surprise before immediately composing herself and readjusted her glasses. "In actuality only about half of our sprites have signed your cast Brian."

Brian's eyes widened and the smile instantly disappeared from his face. "Oh no." He muttered out loud. He looked down at his arm and noticed the lack of sprites. Immediately he took advantage of it and placed his decorated arm back into the sling he wore and stood up.

As he did so there was the sound of horse beats followed by several panicked sprite cries. Earth Dancer came charging up on the road leading past the color castle with several panicked sprites clinging to her back.

"Sunny!"

"Percy! Hold on!"

"Punkin! Oh dear!"

"Earth Dancer! Stop!"

The various cries of the color kids were drowned out by the commanding tone the earth boy had used. And it had worked. The hysterical horse slowed down immediately and came to a stop. Shy Violet, Canary Yellow and La La Orange immediately went to help their frazzled sprites down, while Brian calmed down his horse.

"Easy Earth Dancer." He said while stroking her head. Earth Dancer nickered softly as he did so. Meanwhile Percy, Punkin and Sunny were relaying the story to the color kids.

"A balloon?"

"She jumped over a what?!"

Since Brian was unable to understand the sprite language, he listened hard to the color kid's comments hoping to piece together what had happened. It turned out that one of the sprites had accidentally popped a balloon right near the sleeping earth horse and she bolted. Any object in her path, she jumped over and in the process would unexpectedly pick up extra passengers, further terrifying the already frightened horse.

Sudden sprite chatter made Brian look down. The orange sprite Punkin was there as was his lighter counterpart Sunny. The sprites babbled at him in sprite. Brian frowned slightly. "I'm sorry….I don't understand."

"Punkin said Don't worry. Accidents happen." La La Orange said gently as she and Canary Yellow walked over. "And Sunny said we didn't get hurt so everything is fine." Canary added cheerfully.

Brian smiled weakly at them. Even though he could not have prevented what had occurred, he still felt responsible for the sprites unanticipated ride. The color kids must have sensed his feelings and were quick to reassure their earth friend otherwise, but deep down Brian couldn't help think that he was responsible.

Imagi's Ramblings: Yay! More reviews! Awesome:) Okay I'll answer Casey's quest first. Yeah Russell is really something. Here the saying "What goes around comes around?" Well Russell has his own way of what goes around while still remaining this nice, sweet and a bit absentminded old man.

Randall on the other hand….I don't think I could make a meaner character then that if I tried! He's a spoiled brat's spoiled brat and will not stop until he gets what he wants. As for the other quest…I'm on an update streak right now so read and see. ;) Thanks for the kind words:)

Okay…Crystal Light's turn. Nice to meetya! Don't worry about the not reviewing thing….I don't always review things myself. :blush: I'm getting better at that though. :) And I'm thrilled that you've been sticking with this story for so long:)

Yep. :) I love Earth Dancer too. I've always loved the Brown and White horses with the white mark on the nose and the spots. :) Since Randall had abused her so badly she is reluctant to trust at first, but gradually warms up to the Rainbowland inhabitants.

Boy! You both are smart! Picking up the subtle hints and all. And it's No….and Yes. ;)

Thank you both again for reviewing:)

Imagi


	10. Chapter 10

It had hardly had seemed like time had flown by so fast, but it had. Ever since Brian had his cast taken off 2 months ago, he immediately set to work at training his horse. There were now very few times that you wouldn't see the earth boy and his horse in the Rainbowland Track or in Rainbowland. The routine had changed.

Rainbow Brite and the color kids helped out whenever they could, but unfortunately due to the nature of their work, the times they helped were few. Brian didn't mind though. He knew he could count on them visiting afterwards to see how much progress their friends had made.

Once Rainbow had raced Starlight against Earth Dancer, but Starlight easily passed the earth horse. "Well I'm not surprised. After all no Earth horse could pass the most magnificent horse in the universe!" Starlight bragged. Brian rolled his eyes. "Most egotistical is more like it." He muttered under his breath. Beneath him Earth Dancer snorted her agreement. Brian waited until the "magnificent" horse had left before dismounting. He rubbed Earth Dancer's side fondly as he fought back his laughter. If only they knew.

And very soon they would prove it. Brian had just arrived off of his own rainbow. The color kids were already busy in the color castle. They returned his greeting before returning their attention back to their consoles. Brian meanwhile continued to the racing area where Earth Dancer greeted him.

With a week left before the big race, the pair had stepped up there game. Despite Earth Dancer's great dislike of racing, Brian was able to persuade her somewhat. Sometimes he ran the track and the horse followed…other times he had placed jumping obstacles on the path. Earth Dancer would race up to the obstructions and would jump over them repeatedly. It had taken a lot of effort, but gradually she had gotten the hang of running...though she still wasn't fond of it.

Brian took a deep breath and let it out. He then turned and smiled at the brown and white beauty. "You ready to try Earth Dancer?" After a moment the horse nodded her head and knelt down slightly allowing Brian to get on. The young boy took a deep breath before urging her forward.

All the training had paid off. For the first time Earth Dancer managed to cross the finish line and kept going around the loop. They had almost made it across a third time when it happened. Brian heard a piercing whistle and immediately looked over to the stands that surrounded the track. He gasped out in shock. A single sprite was sliding wildly down the white railing that lined the stands. It wasn't long before the sprite lost his balance and went flying.

Without thinking Brian urged Earth Dancer forward. Carefully he stood up on her back, grabbing her mane for balance. With his eyes he saw the sprite falling faster and just out of reach. He readied himself. "Jump Earth Dancer!" Brian yelled out.

Earth Dancer quickly obeyed. As she jumped, Brian launched himself into the air. He was just able to grab onto the flailing sprite, and held on firmly as gravity took hold. The earth boy had braced himself for the harsh landing that never came. To his shock he managed to land heavily on Earth Dancer miraculously still on his feet. "Don't move. I've got you." Brian said to the sprite in a calm voice bordering on hysterics.

Usually by the time Rainbow Brite and the color kids had finished their daily jobs and gone over to the track, Brian was already done practicing for the day. Today would be no different. Or so they had thought. "Why don't we take a break and go see Brian?" Rainbow had suggested. The kids immediately agreed and abandoned their chairs.

Sprites houses lined either side of the path leading towards the race track. Already they could see the white bleacher boxes. "I wonder if Earth Dancer has gotten the hang of the track yet." Indigo questioned out loud as they walked towards the track. She noticed one of her indigo sprites outside and waved.

Beside her Shy Violet smiled. "Well according to my calculations if Brian continued with the ropes-" "Yeah, but she couldn't even race against Starlight!" Red Butler interjected to Shy Violet's annoyance. Nearby Tickled Pink frowned. "It's wasn't that she couldn't race. It was she chooses not to Red."

Red frowned. "What do you mean?!" He challenged. Rainbow Brite quickly stepped in. "Well Starlight's a special horse, but I think Tickled Pink is right. Rainbow stopped for a moment and looked thoughtful. "Now that I think of it-

A piercing whistle interrupted her and made everyone jump out of surprise. "What was that?!" Canary Yellow said. The tone of the whistle was sharp and had an urgent tone to it. Buddy Blue had already started to run off. "It came from the track come on!" he called over his shoulder.

They had reached the racing area in time to see Earth Dancer jump, and Brian launch himself from the horse's back. Rainbow's hand flew to her belt, but slowly it fell away and she stared wide eyed. To there absolute shock, Brian caught the sprite and then landed on his feet on Earth Dancer's back.

"How did he do that?" Patty O'Green breathed as she stared at the trio. "I didn't know he was an acrobat." La La Orange added. Shy Violet frowned. "He's not La La." She said before promptly running towards the brown and white horse which was now slowing down. Sure enough Brian was breathing heavily and was standing as still as a statue.

Immediately they ran over. "Brian!" The Earth boy smiled weakly at them from his frozen position. Without a word he slowly turned his upper body towards them and let the sprite go. Red Butler and Buddy Blue caught the sprite between them. After a few seconds had passed, Brian shakily jumped down. Once again the other boys were there and kept him from falling.

"Brian are you okay?!" Rainbow Brite questioned urgently. Brian was still breathing heavy and his eyes were wide and unfocused. After a minute or two he calmed down enough to notice them. "I think I've had enough practice for today." He said weakly before passing out.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone:)

Imagi


	11. Chapter 11

Slowly a pressing feeling on his chest broke the darkness of sleep. Brian slowly opened his eyes only to see a pair of large black eyes staring at him. "Ah!" He yelled out of surprise. The sprite let out a startled whistle and fell backwards off of the bed.

The earth boy leaned over the side of the bed to look at the sprite which glared at him. Unlike the other colorful sprites, the sprite had a circle shaped spot over one eye and looked like it had an encounter with the monstromurk. Brian frowned when he thought of Murky's creation.

He still remembered the feeling when the ray hit. Like all of the joy and life was being sucked out of his body. Only the thought of his friends kept him standing. Afterwards his color was quickly restored and he had been brought back home to earth. Unknown to his Rainbowland friends, there had been an unforeseen side effect. For the next week he had come down with a particularly nasty case of the flu and had often been too weak to move from his bed.

Naturally Brian sympathized. "The monstromurk got you too huh?" The monochrome sprite stared at him before placing the top of his mitt in his mouth. Slowly he moved his hand. "Noooo." The sprite whistled carefully.

Brian looked at the sprite in confusion. "Did you just say what I thought you said?" The sprite smiled and replaced his hand. "Yeeess." Brian smiled as well and helped the sprite back onto the bed.

From Brian's understanding, only Rainbow Brite's sprite Twink spoke English. All the others communicated in the sprite speak. As Brian thought he noticed the room for the first time. The walls were a cheery yellow and besides a simple drawer and closet, it was devoid of any clutter. There was also a small open balcony off to one side that you could look out from. A quick look outside showed the day sky had given way to the dark blue of night. Brian turned to look back from the balcony at the sprite who accompanied him. "I'm in the color castle aren't I?" The sprite nodded, before his eyes widened. He ran over to the door and opened it carefully.

The sprite suddenly let out an alarmed whistle and then raced towards the balcony. "What is it?" Brian questioned, but the colorless sprite didn't answer. With a quick hop he landed outside the color castle and quickly ran off to Brian's disappointment.

"Brian!"

The earth boy turned around and noticed the color kids had come into the room. "How are you feeling Brian?" La La Orange questioned. Brian smiled. "Better then I did." He said before his eyes were drawn back over to the balcony. Red Butler sensed the taller boy's thoughts instantly. When you didn't wake up, Rainbow went down to talk to Russell. She should be back soon." The red haired boy explained. Brian nodded. "So what happened while I was out?'

"_He fainted!" Red Butler said in disbelief as everyone stared at the still earth boy. Nearby Shy Violet nodded. I'm not surprised Red. Brian's been training almost every single day to get ready for the race and something like this was enough to put him over the edge." _

"_We better get him back to the color castle." Rainbow Brite said. Before she could call her own horse, Earth Dancer neighed loudly and knelt down slightly. Though the horse couldn't speak the meaning was clear. _

_As the colorful group walked away, the colorless sprite watched with worried eyes. Tickled Pink had noticed and walked back to the sprite. "Don't worry, he'll be okay." She smiled. The sprite looked at her and whistled before following the other kids. _

"I haven't seen that sprite since then." Tickled Pink finished. "I hope he's okay." She added after a moment. Patty O'Green was quick to comment. "The only time I've seen someone lose there color like that was from Murky's Monstromurk. That poor sprite must have been hit by the beam like Brian was."

Brian shook his head. "That's what I thought too, but he said no." Red Butler immediately pounced. "How do you know that?" Brian realized his slip and sighed. "He was here when I woke up." As expected it caused an immediate reaction. "Is he still here Brian?" Rainbow Brite said as she walked into the room.

"Rainbow! What did you-" Rainbow smiled brightly before answering the unasked question. "Russell talked to your mom and she agreed to let you stay here with your friends for the weekend. Brian smiled back. Thanks Rainbow."

Rainbow Brite beamed. "Now can you answer my question Brian?" Brian sighed. "No. He left from there." He said pointing at the balcony. "That's odd. We'll tell the other sprites to keep a lookout for him." Brian smiled at the Rainbowland leader, but inwardly couldn't help grinning. The sprite hadn't been with him for very long but somehow he knew the sprite would be found when he wanted to be.

Canary Yellow knocked gently on the guest door early the next morning. "Brian? Are you up yet?" she questioned. After a moment had passed she slowly opened the door. Brian to her surprise was gone. She shrugged and continued down the hall. To get to the color console room she needed to first go through the dining area. To her surprise most of the other kids were already there and munching on what looked like several small cakes. La La Orange caught her eye. "Good morning Canary."

Canary smiled at the orange clad girl and returned the greeting. "Mini cakes for breakfast?" "They're muffins. Brian left them here for us." Indigo said softly. Patty O'Green handed the yellow color kid one of the strange muffins which she accepted.

"I didn't know Brian could bake." Canary said before taking a bite. Patty giggled. "That's what Red said too." He and Buddy just went over to the track to help Brian." Canary looked at her for a moment before taking another bite. "I hope this turns out better then the last time." She said simply before taking another bite.

When the color kids of red and blue had arrived at the track Brian was already hard at work. The ropes they had used as makeshift hurdles were back across the track and had been moved up even higher.

"Look how high they are." Buddy Blue commented from the sidelines. Next to him the red color kid agreed. "No one can jump that! Not even Starlight!" Or so they thought. To their astonishment, Earth Dancer jumped over the ropes easily as she followed their earth friend around the track.

Brian could feel the heat rising in his face and heard his heart beating loudly in his chest from his run. As he paused to regain his breath he noticed the other boys had followed him. "Well I don't think you'll have to worry about the jumping portion." Red Butler commented. Buddy Blue smiled as well. "Keep that up and you'll win for sure!" The blue color kid said happily.

Brian smiled back. "Thanks guys, but if I know Randall, I'm in for a rough ride." Earth Dancer and I are going to be ready for anything." Red looked at him. "Don't you think you're over doing it?" Brian's smile disappeared and his features harden. "No." He said simply before running over to his horse. Buddy and Red exchanged a look before they followed him.


	12. Chapter 12

Brian didn't know too much about professional racing. The jockey uniform requirement was just another of those things. Fortunately the Fair Chance Racing Association, the ones in charge of the race competition that day, had provided extra uniforms in case a rider had forgotten or damaged his own.

"I look ridiculous."

The horse neighed in amusement at the sight of her partner. The jockey uniform Brian had to wear in order to participate in the competition was bright purple with vibrant green stripes. The horse's amusement though quickly turned to protest and she backed away.

"Sorry Earth Dancer, but if you don't wear this we can't compete." Brian said simply. Earth Dancer stared into the set of blue eyes before she slowly moved forward and allowed the young brunette to place a matching saddle on her.

Brian smiled. Thanks Earth Dancer. The horse snorted, but allowed him to move her from the stables and out into the sunlit area. His friends were already there waiting in the small holding spot that would in turn lead to the practice fields and the racing arena where the other jockeys would be waiting. Their welcoming smiles turned to absolute shock.

"Brian…that outfit is…" Red Butler's words died in his throat as he stared in dismay at the garish uniform. Brian grinned. "Outrageous…Shocking… and…absolutely perfect."

"Huh?!" His friends couldn't help saying. Brian continued to grin back making them wonder if there friend had lost his mind. Finally Rainbow Brite spoke. "I know you don't want to hurt our feelings Brian, but even I have to admit that is one terrible combination of colors." She finished.

"No one will take you seriously if you wear THAT out on the track!" Red Butler protested. Next to him the other kids nodded their heads in agreement. It was Shy Violet who caught on first.

"Exactly Red!" she said brightly as a smile appeared on her face. Before the others could comment she decided to clarify. "That getup of Brian's may be outlandish, but it's the perfect surprise tactic. If no one takes Brian seriously, then they won't regard him as a threat."

Startled the kids looked at Brian who smiled. "You got it Violet." A sudden movement caused him to automatically look towards the stable entrance. Another boy had come out dressed in white on a matching horse. Both rider and horse guffawed and neighed in amusement at the purple and green disaster while Brian smiled sheepishly. As soon as the other boy left, Brian's awkward smile immediately evaporated and he stared at his friends with grim determination. "And that's one mistake there going to regret."

Randall watched with great glee as his hated rival entered the practice area wearing the attire that was so graciously provided for him. "Gee Paperboy! I didn't know you were such a big fan of Larney the Lizard!" he jeered. The other jockeys laughed hysterically at the comment.

Brian frowned, but did his best to tune out the jeers and taunting as he led Earth Dancer around the practice field in a series of circles in an attempt to calm his nerves. The brown and white horse nickered and turned her head towards a series of jumps. Brian smiled gently. "Let's do it Earth Dancer." He said softly before urging her forward.

Randall grinned wickedly as he watched the paperboy race "Crusader" around the practice jumps. The boy had stupidly misjudged the obstacles and ended up knocking over most of the poles placed on the hurdles. To top it off "Crusader" had refused to jump over the more complicated barriers. Grinning he left to go grab a front row seat to the paperboy's humiliation.

In the stands surrounding the warm up field and the track the inhabitants of Rainbowland sat. Well most of them anyways. Stormy jumped to her feet as her hand shot up into the air. Red Butler and Canary Yellow who were on either side of her quickly forced her hand down.

"Stormy!" Stormy growled in response. "He did something to the bars didn't he!" she cried out. Shy Violet studied the field before glancing over at the book she was reading. "Actually in accordance to the rules, the bars are currently at the right height." Violet adjusted her glasses before continuing. "There shouldn't be any reason why Earth Dancer should not be making those jumps."

"And Red and I saw her jump over higher ones then that." Buddy Blue added. Rainbow Brite frowned. "I know Brian can jump those poles. Why is he doing this?" Indigo smiled softly. "He's playing his part. The outfit is only part of it." As the other kids looked at her she smiled once more. "Brian knows what he's doing." That said she turned to look back at the racetrack.

A young rider dressed in black with the exception of a yellow lightning bolt was currently running the field. True to his alias "Lightning," he quickly maneuvered the black horse through the obstacles with blazing speed, completely unaware of a loud voice over a microphone commenting on the run. Lightning though had a cocky side, which cost him. A slight miscalculation caused the horse to nick the last pole making it fall to the ground.

Disgusted Lightning watched the board and smiled faintly. Mistake or not he was still in the lead. The smile grew when he noticed the last rider. The rookie jockey had just entered the area and was smiling at a row of empty seats. No threat there…the boy couldn't even jump over the poles. He snickered to himself.

Brian smiled at his friends who were cheering him on. Looking at the stands he could also see Russell and his Mom and Dad there as well. His roaming eyes met a set of triumphant ones. Sure enough they belonged to his arch enemy. The rich boy was grinning wickedly at him. Brian looked at him and smirked.

The moment the whistle blew the pair was off. With a speed to momentarily rival Starlight's, they raced over to the first jump and jumped over it effortlessly before racing to the next. The speed and skill they had used to navigate the various jumps had the people cheering.

As soon as it had started it was over. Brian halted his horse and waited for the results, smiling at a dumbstruck Lightning. Looking back over at the stands, he saw his friends jumping up and down with excitement. His eyes once again met Randall's and he shrugged with a slight grin on his face. Randall however didn't smile back and glared at him lividly.


	13. Chapter 13

Brian sighed to himself. Every since the jumping contest had been decided in his favor, he had been constantly overrun by reporters waiting to interview him. "There just doing there job….there just doing there job…there just doing there job…" Brian inwardly chanted to himself.

"So Brian Marks…after that DISASTEROUS practice session of YOURS you managed to shock everyone her at FCRA by coming in FIRST place. Was that simply a FLUKE? OR… some sort of BIZZARE TRAINING strategy?" A young blonde woman said enthusiastically.

Brian put on a forced smile and turned towards the blonde reporter who had just spoken. "Practice makes perfect." He said simply. "Now if you excuse me, I need to get ready for the race." Without another word he left the news circle and headed back to the stables. Once inside he started to relax. "That was not fun." He commented out loud to the air.

"There gunning for you. Of course it's not fun." Brian spun around and Earth Dancer neighed in surprise. Nearby was another boy sitting on one of the few wooden benches that were placed close by. Unlike the other riders, the boy smiled at him.

"I'm Joey Stargazer and this is Star Runner." he announced as he gestured to a black horse. Brian smiled back. I'm Brian Marks and this is Earth Dancer." Brian then blinked and stared at the other horse. "Is her mane silver?" he asked in disbelief. Joey smiled. "Actually it's white with a silver shine to it. She's one of a kind." He announced proudly before he grinned. "And so am I!"

Indeed he was. Joey's unruly hair was almost down to his shoulders and was almost white with only the slightest hint of blonde. Like Brian he wore the jockey uniform but his was a harlequin pattern in a mix of black and silver.

"Hey since you're here would you mind helping me up on Star Chaser?" Brian blinked in confusion at the sudden and odd request. Joey grinned weakly and carefully rolled up a pants leg. To Brian's surprise, the baggy pants concealed the fact that Joey wore leg braces.

"My legs may be weak, but my arm's aren't." He said firmly. Carefully Brian helped the other boy to his feet. Several times Joey had started to wobble badly. Without Brian's assistance he would surely have fallen. Finally though, Joey was on Star Chaser's back. A special strap attached to Star Runner's saddle kept his legs firmly in place.

"Thanks!" Joey said brightly. With a click of his tongue, Star Chaser wheeled around to face them. "Don't expect me to go easy on you." He warned. Brian grinned back. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

Brian continued to smile cheerfully as he followed his new friend to the track's entrance. Unfortunately someone had other plans. The moment Joey was out of sight it happened. A violent blow from behind forced Brian to let go of Earth Dancer's reigns as he fell to the ground.

Immediately it was taken advantage of. Earth Dancer let out an angry cry, but a harsh tug by several pairs of hands kept her in place. Brian himself was pinned firmly to the ground. Any attempts to get up resulted in vicious punches forcing him to lie on the ground.

"Good Dog." Bruiser Fists, Randall's right hand bully grunted his approval as he grinned nastily as Brian glared at him. "You won't get away with this!" Brian declared. Bruiser grinned and silenced the paperboy with a fierce blow. "Bad Dog!" he sneered. With one chubby hand he pointed to the stables. Getting the hint the rest of the gang started to drag Earth Dancer back towards the stables. "No!!!" Brian cried out in anguish and is once again silenced.

Patty O'Green had watched with amusement as Brian had been immediately swarmed by reporters, reminding her once again of the infamous sprite sign up…or as Brian called it the day of the million cast signatures. She giggled in remembrance. It wasn't long though before the excitement wore off. It had taken a bit of persuasion, but finally Tickled Pink and Buddy Blue had agreed to walk around with her until the race started again.

Patty's eyes were wide in horror and Tickled Pink started to cry. Brian had apparently had been ambushed by Randall's gang. Several boys held their friend down to the ground and would harm him every time he moved. Earth Dancer in the meantime was being forced towards the stables.

Buddy Blue recovered from the shock first and his eyes hardened. He then touched the blue star on his belt causing a beam of blue light to appear. Two more beams of green and pink quickly followed his lead.

The bullies forgot about their punching bag as they stared in horror at their skin which was now a mix of pastel colors. Quickly they abandoned boy and horse and fled.

Tickled Pink's finger dropped away from her belt and her eyes started to once again tear up. Buddy noticed immediately. "Pink get Rainbow!" He ordered. The pink color kid nodded and quickly ran off. Buddy turned back towards Patty who looked sadly at their friend.

"I'm glad I insisted on the walk." She said quietly. "If I didn't-" Patty's words trailed off as tears appeared in her eyes. Buddy nodded his agreement at Patty's unvoiced fear. It could have been a lot worse. He thought as he looked at the still form of his earth friend.


	14. Chapter 14

What had turned started out as simple racing competition had quickly turned into a media circus with the blonde reporter from before at the head. The reporter smiled broadly. The rider Brian Marks had been brutally attacked on his way to the track by several jockeys. Some had tried to deny their involvement, but they had been caught, pink, blue and green handed by Russell Adams. The reporter frowned at the last part before smiling. Eagerly she pointed her microphone at the nearest person.

"Mr. ADAMS…..would you say that this little SCUFFLE was some sort of PLOY by Brian Marks to SABOTAGE the upcoming RACE? Or did he ACCIDENTALLY manage to DISCREDIT several of these HONEST AND TRUSTWORTHY young men?"

Russell had had it. In one quick motion he yanked the microphone away from the startled lady. "These "honest" and "trustworthy" boys deliberately attacked my rider. Also these "honorable" young men attempted to steal his horse during the assault.

The reporter scowled. "You have no proof." She hissed as she reached for the microphone. Wisely Russell held it out of her reach. "I will hear no more lies from your poisoned lips." He said firmly before turning away. Russell had only taken a few steps before the reporter lunged. Her manicured nails managing to grasp the mike. Russell frowned deeply and tried to yank it back but the reporter refused to let go and smiled back nastily.

Randall Maden grinned wickedly as he accompanied the referee and the track doctor back to the medical area. This was it. All the doctor had to do was prove the paperboy unfit to compete and CRUSADER would be his once more. His smile grew as he saw Brian Marks glare at him from the bed.

"Say your Goodbyes to CRUSADER. You're DISQUALIFIED paperboy!" Randall gloated. Brian frowned darkly at the evil boy him from behind his many bruises. Ignoring the pain of his injuries he slowly sat up.

"You…. have pulled….every low down dirty trick in the book." Brian said venomously before gritting his teeth. Once the sharp pain dulled the injured rider continued. And yet you still haven't been able to take Earth Dancer from me." Brian grinned despite the pain. To everyone's shock the rookie rider who they had deemed far too weak to compete any further had slowly started to rise to his feet. "And there…is NO way I'm going to give up now!" Brian declared firmly as he slowly walked to the exit.

The track erupted as the injured rider; Brian Marks appeared with Earth Dancer in tow. The other jockeys stared at him incredulously. With his injuries, he should have been out of the competition…but yet here he was. Most had to smile at his courage. Joey Stargazer who was nearby, applauded loudly. At least until a black horse bumped hard into Star Chaser's side. Joey quickly reached for her mane.

"That aught to teach you some manners." Bruiser grunted. Unlike his other cohorts, he had escaped the color kids wrath. The blood red jockey uniform he wore suited him perfectly. Brian frowned darkly at his tormentor. "This ends now." He stated coldly before urging Earth Dancer forward. Likewise Joey did the same. Both missed the look of hatred that shone in Bruiser's pig like eyes.

Earth Dancer was led into the stall without any problems, but as it closed behind her, trapping her inside she started to panic. "It's okay Earth Dancer." Brian said calmly. The horse nickered back and Brian smiled back compassionately. "Let's just do the best we can." A toss of Earth Dancer's head showed she agreed completely.

The moment the gun sounded signifying the start of the race, it happened. A loud popping sound echoed over the track causing many of the charging horses to suddenly rear. Some had even thrown their riders in their fright. Joey and Brian frowned darkly at Bruiser. His horse had somehow been the only one unaffected by the noise.

Quickly they calm down their terrified horses and quickly raced after the cruel boy easily catching up. Bruiser waited until Brian was alongside his horse to make his move. Quickly his foot darted out and struck Earth Dancer's side. The horse as expected let out a cry of pain and she stopped.

Brian! Red Butler yelled out from the stands, his fingers reaching for his belt. Firm hands on his caused him to look up into Rainbow's sad eyes. "No Red…we can't interfere." She said quietly.

Bruiser completed the first lap and grinned wickedly as another rider came into his line of vision. Joey had guided Star Chaser far from Bruiser's reach, but Bruiser deliberately went closer, eventually forcing Star Chaser on the very edge of the track. He grinned wickedly as he bumped up against Joey.

Brian had in the meantime recovered and urged Earth Dancer forward. The brown and white horse was nothing more then a blur as she raced past the first lap. A sharp cry of pain followed by one of fear caused Brian to look up. To his horror Joey had started to fall off Star Chaser. "No!" he cried out. Earth Dancer seemed to sense the danger and ran even faster.

Brian barely made it. He grabbed Joey's hand firmly, wincing slightly as he did, but refused to let go. With his assistance, Joey is able to get back on. "That jerk cut the strap!" Joey growled. Brian frowned as well, before he looked at his friend. "Can you hold on to the end?" Joey grinned back. "Don't worry about me! Star Chaser and I can handle it! Now go catch that bully!" Brian nodded. "You got it! Come on Earth Dancer!"

Bruiser grinned broadly. The finish line was not far off and with his competition disposed of he could relax. He took a proud glance behind him and almost fell over. The paperboy was quickly catching up! The panic turned to a wicked grin and he waited.

Brian noticed the black horse ahead had started to slow down and drift towards him. Brian frowned. I'm ready for you this time. He thought mentally preparing himself. Sure enough Bruiser stuck his foot out viciously. Brian had expected it and quickly halted Earth Dancer. The result was Bruiser off balanced himself and fell from the saddle. Brian grinned broadly at the furious boy, before guiding Earth Dancer forward and across the finish line to the cheers of the crowd.

"We did it!" Brian yelled out in glee. "We did it!"


	15. Chapter 15

Russell whistled cheerfully as he walked over to his young rider. Brian was clearly exhausted; both from the competitions and from his injuries, but the horde of reporters that surrounded him didn't seem to notice. Frowning he decided to end this.

If it wasn't for the bench, Brian would have fallen over long ago from the fatigue. Still the reporters were relentless. All were too eager to be the "first" to get an interview with the famous Brian Marks.

"Brian Marks you are truly a remarkable young man…"

"How did you know Bruiser Fists would attempt such a trick?"

"Do you plan to compete in the future?"

"So is it true all of this came about just to win a horse?"

To their frustration, Brian Marks refused to verbally answer and stared back at them with weary eyes. Frowning they opened their mouths to try again, only to be pushed aside by Russell Adams. The older man ignored their cries of protest and held up a microphone of his own at the worn-out rider.

"So Brian…now that you've won the FCRA jumping and the racing competitions here what do you plan to do next?" he winked. Immediately Brian looked more alert and he fought back his laughter.

Rainbow Brite and the color kids had already departed for home, but insisted on him coming over later that day. He couldn't tell the eager reporters that he was going to Rainbowland…even though he was sorely tempted to.

"Actually I'm going to celebrate with my friends." Brian smiled as he sat up straighter. "It's been a long road and not one I'll forget anytime soon." He laughed slightly before continuing. Sure there were the bad parts….the broken arm, being beat up and the dirty tricks…but as they say…the good outweighs the bad. And I've had a lot of good times on this road." Brian grinned before he got up, wobbling a bit. Russell supported the young boy as they left for the stable, both disregarding the reporters that attempted to follow.

It wasn't until Brian had changed out of the nightmarish outfit and into his regular clothes that he remembered something. Grinning he turned to Russell. "You took it away from her didn't you?" Russell smirked as he held up the microphone. The sides of the mike now had a few deep grooves in it. It was obvious the blonde reporter had not given up without a fight. "Guilty." He said simply. Brian shook his head as he laughed.

True to his word, Brian had arrived in Rainbowland a few hours later. Earth Dancer had immediately run up to his side. He smiled at the brown and white horse proudly. It was official. Earth Dancer was his. And in a place where he knew she would truly be happy. He smiled again and gazed over towards the color castle. His mouth had dropped open and he stared in shock at the scene before him.

CONGRATULATIONS BRIAN BROWN AND EARTH DANCER! A large banner proclaimed. Tied to the poles that held it aloft were balloons of every color. Long picnic tables had been set up all over the place each piled high with food and each filled with sprites. The main table however was empty.

Rainbow Brite and the color kids had abandoned it and ran over to him. Brian smiled back at them weakly. "Don't you think I've had enough surprises today?" His friends laughed.

"After what you've been through, I think you can handle it." Rainbow winked causing more laughter. Gently she took his hand and led him back to the table.

Thanks to my readers! Kayla the Hedgehog, Elda Aranel, Sakura Avalon, Casey, Crystal Light, Major Ursa, C9, OrangieGirl2, shane75, Beautiful Rainbow, Spectral Steel, anda2324, southern babe1, and to all those who have read or will eventually read this story. :)

And to those who wonder if this is the end….this is only the beginning. :)

Imagi


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